STILLWATER, Minn. – In 36-year history of the Minnesota Golf Association Mixed Amateur Team Championship, only one father-daughter duo has hoisted the hardware come tournament’s end.
On Tuesday, Grace and Mark Petzold became the second combo to claim the championship, and they did so in impressive fashion by carding a final-round 68 to earn an eight-stroke victory over the twosome of Bryan Fleegel and Samantha Sommers at Oak Glen Golf Course.
“He got me into golf, and he’s been my high school coach and been there for me, watching all of my college events and has been a ton of help with my game,” the younger Petzold said following the victory Tuesday. “It’s so much fun to be able to play with him, but to getting to win this is great.”
“[Yesterday] we just fed off of the positives,” Mark Petzold said. “It got easy, which was good for us because we’ve played in this a couple of times and got off to rocky starts and gotten nervous. This year was just a little easier. It’s so special—it’s an absolute dream.”
The Petzolds enter the record book behind Lily and Tony Vincelli, who became the first father-daughter pair to win the championship with their two-stroke victory in 2022 at Northfield Golf Club.
With a final tally of 15-under 129 Tuesday, the Petzolds own the lowest score to par at the championship since 2021 when Jack Johnson and Emma Welch finished at 17-under 127 at Pebble Creek Golf Club. Tuesday’s mark is also the largest margin of victory in more than 15 seasons.
Opening with an 11-under 61 during the Fourball format Monday, the Petzolds held a sizable six-shot advantage over Fleegel and Sommers, as well as the team of Trevor Anker and Kye Daywitt.
A format change to Modified Chapman for the final round Tuesday did little to slow the father-daughter team down, as the two bounced back from an early bogey with back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth holes to reach 12-under for the championship, maintaining a six-stroke lead.
Helped by his daughter’s close approach at the 13th, Mark Petzold rolled in a short birdie putt before sinking a 10-footer at the 14th to push his team to 14-under.
A final birdie putt from the fringe at the par-3 16th from the elder Petzold moved the twosome to 17-under, where they’d finish with an eight-stroke win at 129, giving Mark Petzold his first state title, while Grace Petzold wins for the first time since claiming the Class AA individual title in 2023.
“He was hitting it close and he was draining some putts, keeping it steady,” Grace Petzold said Tuesday. “Today we just had each other’s backs and keep the ball in play and know if we’re in the fairway we can get it on the green and have two chances at it.”
“Playing the different format a couple of times helped, we get it and we were used to it,” Mark Petzold said. “Again, fed off of where we know we’re going to hit it each time. I like playing from where she hits it and I think she likes playing from where I hit it.”
Making their first appearance at the championship in 2023 at Brackett’s Crossing Country Club, the Petzolds placed tied for sixth before finishing 11th in 2024 at Stillwater Country Club.
A year ago, the Petzolds followed up their first-round 69 with a 5-under 67 on the final day to finish runner-up, two strokes behind Ben and Madi Hicks at Hastings Golf Club.
Following an opening-round 67 Monday, Fleegel and Sommers played their outward nine in 1-under Tuesday but were hampered by three bogeys over the final nine holes, posting a final-round 70 to place second at 7-under 137.
Firing back-to-back rounds of 69 this week, the brother-sister combination of Ava and Sam Hanneman finished alone in third place Tuesday at 6-under 138, three shots better than the team of Betsy Kelly and Kirk White.